His Voice
by Mockingjay272
Summary: It's been seven months. Seven months since she saw him last. Seven months since she heard his voice. Quick oneshot where Annabeth hears the recording Percy left his mother in SoN.


**A/N: OK, I know I have a bunch of other stuff to get to, but with Mark of Athena coming out tomorrow (I CAN'T WAIT!), I couldn't resist writing this! Well, when I finished writing this, Mark of Athena was coming out tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to post this, because my school laptop blocked FanFiction, which is the main reason I haven't been able to post. Anyways, let me know what you think! It's my first PJO/HoO fanfic, and I hope you like it! Annabeth's POV by the way, just in case you couldn't tell ;) Please review!**

**~Mock**

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I woke up, earlier than usual, in the Athena cabin, which had become, after all these years, my home. The bag which held my laptop from Daedalus was slung over the side of my bunk. I considered bringing it out and examining one or more of Daedalus' amazing inventions (there was one about the use of right angles on buildings that looked completely fascinating), but after Percy disappeared, even architecture didn't have the same appeal to me.

Percy. The last contact I had with him might not even have been valid. I had seen an image of him in my dreams, which wasn't uncommon, and Grover had said that he had seen Percy as well that night. I had told Percy that Tyson was on his way, which I hoped was true.

I wished I could have been out there with Tyson, searching for Percy. But Chiron insisted that I stay here and wait for _Argo II _to be finished, so I could accompany Jason, Leo, and Piper on the ship's maiden voyage. Chiron said that with any luck, I would see Percy at the Roman camp.

But would he remember me at all? Jason's mind was completely wiped, except for one small bit of information about Thalia. I knew that Hera hated Percy. Would she have been so kind as to leave one small part of his memory intact? If she had, would I get lucky enough to have that one part be me?

Staring up that the ceiling alone with my thoughts was driving me insane. Making a split second decision, I threw my thick comforter off my body and jumped off my bunk. Sophia, my half-sister who was in the bunk below me, rolled over in her sleep, but to my relief, she didn't wake. I slipped out of the cabin in my tank top and shorts.

Poking my head out of the cabin, I didn't see any campers, satyrs, or nymphs, so I took off on quick feet over to the Poseidon cabin. It was early enough that if no one was out and about, I shouldn't have to worry about anyone noticing where I was going.

The door creaked as I opened it. The familiar scent of sea water engulfed me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the salty air. The smell reminded me so much of Percy that it hurt.

Opening my lids, my gaze traveled to the Minotaur horn on the wall. I padded over to it and ran my hand over its length. It was the only remnant of the first monster Percy had killed. I remember seeing him stumbling down the valley to the Big House, dragging Grover, and being in tears, clutching this thing in his hand. There was something about him, even then, that radiated an aura of power, and I just knew he was what I had been waiting for. He was going to be the one who would be my escape from camp, if only for a small time, just to test myself against the world once. Smiling slightly, I took a moment to reminisce about all the adventures we've had since our first one to the Underworld.

From the Minotaur horn, my gaze landed on his bed, still messy. He hadn't made it the last time he had been here, and the blankets were in a jumbled heap. I sat in the middle of the bed.

It still felt like him. Time had not been able to eliminate his presence from the cabin. I could almost feel his tangible presence here with me.

I eyes flew open, and to my slight surprise, they were filled with hot tears the threatened to spill down my face. I blinked, trying to rid my eyes of them, but I only made it worse. The tears traced wet lines down my face. Sitting with my knees up, I drew his blanket up to my chin, hugging it, trying with all my might to bring him here with nothing more than the willpower of my mind.

I don't know how long I sat there, but before too much time had passed a shadow appeared in the doorway, which was followed almost immediately by Chiron. He bent his upper body to fit his head under the ceiling, but didn't bother trying to enter the cabin completely.

"Annabeth, my dear," he said, and right away, I knew something important had happened, and from Chiron's expression, it was probably not good news. "We have to go to Sally and Paul's apartment. Percy has left a voicemail-"

"What?!" I shrieked. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Without waiting for him, I ran out of the cabin and towards Thalia's pine tree.

It was still early in the morning, but by now, a few campers were up. I ran passed a few Apollo kids playing a friendly game of volleyball. Clarisse and Chris were lounging outside the Ares cabin. And at the Hephaestus cabin, Leo, Jake, Nyssa, and their brothers and sisters were carrying boxes of tools to _Argo II_.

"Hey Annabeth!" Leo called. "We think we might finish with this thing today. Then you'll all be in awe when Captain Leo takes you to the Roman camp!"

I didn't bother to answer him. I didn't stop running until I was at the top of the hill, when a pair of arms trapped me around the waist.

"Woah, Annabeth, calm down," Rachel said, holding me back. "I know that you're going to want to hear whatever it was Percy said, but you at least have to get dressed first."

"Let me go, Rachel!" I yelled at her. "I don't care about getting dressed or anything, I just need to hear his voice. I need to!"

"Rachel is right," a calm, sad voice said behind me. I knew it was Chiron, so I didn't bother to stop fighting Rachel long enough to turn around. I sensed that I was winning, that I would break free, when Chiron suddenly picked me up and set me down on his back. He ran too fast for me to even consider jumping off, and before I knew it, I was back in front of the Athena cabin, where Chiron set me down.

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he held up his hand, and in an unusually stern voice he said, "No. I'm not letting you go until you regain some sense. I have a report from Leo that _Argo II_ will be ready to fly today, at approximately noon, and we need to make sure that you will not break down. Yes, I will allow you to hear Percy's voicemail, but only if you can maintain your composure throughout it." I was too stunned to answer, so I numbly walked into my cabin, quickly threw on my old orange camp shirt and some jeans, and ran back outside the cabin. Chiron made me walk back to Thalia's pine, where Rachel was waiting patiently.

"Let's get going then," Chiron said in a somber tone. He slowly lowered himself into the wheelchair that was next to Rachel, and the three of us made our way to one of the vans, where Argus was waiting for us.

It didn't take us too terribly long to reach Percy's but every second felt like an eternity. When Argus finally pulled up to the front door of the apartment, and I didn't bother to wait for Rachel and Chiron. The elevator, however, took forever to reach the bottom floor, so the other two had caught up enough to accompany me. I tapped my foot as I waited for the elevator to come to the correct floor.

Finally, finally, the elevator doors pinged open, and Sally and Paul were waiting for us outside their door. Sally still had the remains of tears staining her face, but they were no longer falling freely from her eyes. I wanted to run right through them and turn the recording machine on, but the basic rules of decorum stayed me. I calmly walked with Chiron and Rachel (trying not to be obvious about the fact that my heart was beating faster and faster) up to Sally and Paul, who ushered us inside their apartment.

We crowded around the phone, which had a small number 1 blinking on the screen. Taking a deep breath, Sally pushed the play button, and for the first time in seven months, I heard his voice.

_Mom. Hey I'm alive. Hera put me to sleep for a while, and then she took my memory, and… Anyway, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm on a quest—I'll make it home. I promise. Love you._

He was alright. Hera did take his memory, just like she had done with Jason. But a quest… no, I refused to think about it. He bore the curse of Achilles, and besides that, he was probably the best fighter I'd ever known. He'd be perfectly safe.

"When did you receive this, Sally?" Chiron asked.

Sally's voice shook when she answered. "I think it must have been late last night. It wasn't there when we went to bed, but it was when we woke up. If only one of us would have heard it…"

Sally couldn't go on, seeing as tears overtook her again. Paul took her hand and Rachel patted her on the back.

"It's all going to be alright," Rachel said in a soothing voice. "_Argo II_ is going to fly today, and then we'll be able to set everything straight once again. On the way to Greece, I'm sure Annabeth can convince Leo to stop here for a few moments so you can see Percy again. Everything's going to be fine." Even though Piper was the one with the power of charmspeak, Rachel's words sounded extremely convincing. Even I almost believed everything could be that easy.

Sally gulped down her tears, then nodded. She turned to me, which surprised me a little bit.

"You'll bring him home, won't you Annabeth?" she asked me. "I feel awful trying to put so much pressure on you, but I know how much you care for him… and how much he cares for you. I don't believe Hera could have taken away his memory of you. It's too powerful. I know, deep in my heart, that he still remembers you. I know my son. He cares about you more than anything. Please, bring him back. You _can _do it. Even if he's been completely drawn to the Roman way, he'll listen to you. He'll do anything for you." With that, she embraced me in a strong hug that I was too stunned to return. When she released me a few moments later, I finally realized I'd been crying.

Rachel apparently noticed too, because she put her arms around me. "Come on, girl," she muttered. "Time to go get your boyfriend back." She started leading me out the door, leaving Chiron to brief Sally and Paul about our mission later that day.

Rachel got me back to the van before I completely broke down. I prided myself for being strong during Percy's leave of absence, and I hated to cry, especially if anyone saw me. But I figured Rachel and I had gone through enough together. If my pride was too strong that I couldn't cry in front of Rachel, my pride and I were going to have a serious conversation. And I needed to let out some of the emotion that had been building up in me for seven months. After this, I'd be okay again. I always was.

Chiron returned just as I was wiping the last of my tears away. Rachel assured that my eyes didn't look too red, but I knew Chiron would know exactly what had happened. He'd known me for almost ten years now.

When we returned to camp, we were greeted with a very anxious Piper and Jason. One look, and I knew immediately that _Argo II _was complete. Sure enough, Piper and Jason led us down to the dock, where a very greasy Leo was waiting, a manic smile on his face.

"I finally got this baby to work!" he exclaimed. "Look at her! Ha! I'd like to see any camper in the next fifty years try to top that!"

"You and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin did well Leo," Chiron said. "And as much as I would like to commend you for your work, I'm afraid we're out of time. We have to sail to the Roman camp immediately. Jason, you're sure you can find your old camp again?" Jason nodded.

"Alright then," Chiron said. "Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Leo. You are all about to embark on a dangerous quest, one that no demigod had dared to undertake. We wish you the best of luck here at Camp Half-Blood, and know that you will be in our thoughts. May the gods, Greek and Roman, be with you."

Without speaking, Jason, Leo, Piper, and I simply nodded and boarded the ship. Even Leo didn't seem to be in a joking mood (a miracle). We didn't have any clue what we were getting ourselves into.

Leo started the ship up, and in no time, we were flying. I took one last look at Half-Blood Hill, my home. I didn't know when I would be back, or even if I would be back.

All I knew is that until I found Percy, I wouldn't be doing anything. If I don't see him later today, Gaea and her giants would have to wait for a while. After hearing his voice today, I need him back with me now. And I will do everything in my power to make that happen.

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**A/N: I hoped you liked it! I'm a little iffy about Annabeth's characterization, to be honest. I feel like she would have refrained from crying during most of this time, but broke down at least a couple of times. She's human too! And this is something that would probably set her over, or at least that's how I feel.**

**Who's excited for Mark of Athena? Gods, if Riordan doesn't give us the Percabeth reunion we've been waiting 2 YEARS for, I might just go to his house and force him to rewrite it. Ugh, I WANT MY PERCABETH! Also, who do you think is going to be the fourth demigod POV? I know Annabeth, Percy, and Jason will be represented, and I think the fourth one's going to be Leo, but I'm not sure (if you've read MoA, don't tell me in the comments. I won't get it for a couple days, seeing as I have a hold at the library. Just tell me your guess!). **

**Anyway, please don't forget to review! It's just a simple click away people!**

**~Mock**


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